Monday, September 03, 2007

Like most of California, San Francisco has been experiencing a heat wave during the past few days. And when I say heat wave, I mean temperatures in the 80s. You may laugh, but 80 is considered hot in these parts. "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" is a quote (mistakenly) attributed to Mark Twain. Regardless of the origin, there is some truth to the saying (just ask any tourist), that is, until late August or early September. That's when the San Francisco summer really begins. We can bask in some summer warmth during these final summer days and into the start of autumn as well. What better way to celebrate the season than to throw a party? That's exactly what Ivonne of Cream Puffs In Venice and Lisa of La Mia Cucina are doing. La Festa al Fresco is a virtual patio party and they've invited everyone. All they ask is that guests bring a party dish featuring a fresh, seasonal ingredient. I chose black friar plums and blackberries for my upside down polenta cake. The polenta adds a nice crunch to this not too sweet cake from the August 2007 issue of BHG. The original recipe called for an assortment of berries, but the plums were too good to pass up. But feel free to use blueberries, raspberries or even huckleberries (if you are lucky enough to find some). See you at the party!

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a parchment paper circle and butter paper.

Arrange blackberries and chopped plums in the bottom of your prepared pan. In a large bowl, stir together flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk sugar and zest. Whisk in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add egg mixture to flour mixture all at once. Stir until just combined.

Pour batter over fruit and spread evenly. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan to loosen cake. Invert onto a cake rack. Remove parchment paper.

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.